This week it looks like we will actually get some good winter weather. The main question right now is how much snow will we get, but overall things are looking good for some extremely cold air. That means I'm thinking about the shad kill. David Perry over at Southeasternfly saw some coming through a week or two ago, but so far the fish have not seen enough to be keying on them real well.
Besides, when it is truly on, the fish look like little footballs and the largest fish in the river start feeding on the white morsels. With at least the possibility of low temperatures below zero but Wednesday night this week, I'm expecting a full blown shad kill by next weekend if we are going to get a good one this year. That is always a big if.
Depending on whether the temperatures continue to be unusually low or not, the shad kill could go on for a couple of weeks or even into early March. The best year I remember had a good shad kill into March so things could be awesome for a while now.
Even if the shad kill does not get particularly exciting, the nymph and midge fishing has been good recently. When we can get good flows to float (0 or 1 generator), then it is worth getting out on the water. Things should get even better in March so if you are looking for a tailwater float on the Caney Fork in the next couple of months, please contact me and I would be glad to help you get a trip set up.
I'm a little confused as to how the shad kill increases the fishing with maybe the exception of easy pickin's for the bigger fish. Can you explain further. Just curious.
ReplyDeleteMark, I need to do a more detailed post because yours is not the first question I've had about the shad kill. In short, however, the Caney Fork is a tailwater. When the surface temperature in the lake above drops into the low 40s, shad begin to die. Those dead shad are caught in the turbines and swept through the dam to the river below, filling it with 2-3 inch long morsels of protein. When it is really on, just about all of the fish from 10-11 inches and up start eating the shad and gain length and girth VERY quickly. I've caught fish that start coughing up half digested shad in large quantities. Definitely more calories for the fish than eating tiny nymphs and midges all day! The best thing is that once the kill starts, the fish will hit just about any white streamer...
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